Homestead · Miami-Dade County
We Buy Houses in Homestead, As They Sit
Homestead is the second oldest city in Miami-Dade County, yet its median home dates from 2001. No listing, no showings, no repairs, and you pick the closing date.
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- No obligation, no fee
- We do not sell your information
- 25,638
- Households
- 48.3%
- Owner-occupied
- 51.7%
- Rented
Source: U.S. Census QuickFacts, ACS 2020 to 2024, checked Oct 27, 2026
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126 ReviewsTotal Cash Home Buyers -
A+ RatingTotal Cash Home Buyers
- 20+ YearsTotal Cash Home Buyers, buying in South Florida
- No commissions, no closing costsYou pay nothing out of pocket
- No surprise deductionsOnly your payoff and any liens come off
What's specific here
Selling a House in Homestead: What Is Actually Different
Public information with the source next to it, not a paragraph that sounds local.
Homestead was founded in 1913 by workers who had built Henry Flagler's railroad to Key West and stayed, which makes it the second oldest city in Miami-Dade County; Everglades National Park lies ten miles west and Biscayne National Park to the east. Hurricane Andrew hit the city directly in 1992, and the median home here dates from 2001, with about one in five built before 1980. So the house that reaches us is usually not old; it is a house in Keysgate, Waterstone or the Villages with a tenant, a deadline or a payment behind it.
Fewer than half of Homestead's 25,638 occupied homes (48.3%) are lived in by their owners, so the seller is often a landlord with a tenant in place. Owners are recent: the typical one moved in by 2015, and about one in six owner households (16%) is headed by someone 65 or older. What brings a seller to us is usually a move that cannot wait or payments that slipped. With an estate, the probate case runs through the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, and we pay the estate's attorney at closing.
The title company orders the City Clerk's estoppel and lien search: $75 per folio for three to five working days, or $125 rush, covering downtown assessments, code compliance, utilities and liens placed by the City, and good for thirty days. Utilities matter here because Homestead Public Services, the City's own utility, delivers water, electricity and sanitation. Code cases go before a Special Magistrate, whose fines can reach $1,000 a day and end as a lien on the title, and the current owner answers for a violation even if a prior owner caused it. We read it all before the offer, and any balance shows as a line before you sign.
- Neighborhoods we buy in
- Landmarks
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- Homestead-Miami Speedway, whose first race was run in 1995↗
- The Seminole Theatre, reopened in 2015 after nearly 40 years of vacancy↗
- Homestead Historic Town Hall Museum, 41 N. Krome Avenue↗
- Hotel Redland, a designated historic building↗
- The Cybrarium, opened in Downtown Homestead in 2021↗
- Homestead City Hall, a LEED-certified building opened in Downtown Homestead in 2016↗
- Everglades National Park, ten miles west of the city, and Biscayne National Park, to its east↗
- Main roads
- School district
- Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the county-wide district Source
- The houses themselves
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- 2001Median year builtSource
- 22%Built before 1980Source
- 2015Typical owner has been in the house sinceSource
- 16%Owner households headed by someone 65 or olderSource
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey five-year estimates for 2020 to 2024, checked Oct 27, 2026.
- Before closing in Homestead
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- The City Clerk's estoppel/lien search costs $75 per folio number for regular service (3 to 5 working days) or $125 for rush service (1 to 2 working days), plus $15 or $25 per unit for folios with more than five units; it includes downtown assessments, code compliance, utilities and liens placed by the City, the letter is emailed unless a self-addressed stamped envelope comes with the request, and after thirty days a new lien search is required. Source
- An account history and updated lien search, revised April 28, 2025, costs $35 per request and per folio number for regular service (3 to 5 working days), plus $10 per unit above five units, and can cover utilities, account history and code compliance; after thirty days a new lien search is required. Source
- Homestead Public Services (HPS), the City's utility, delivers municipal water, energy and sanitation, and its Customer Service Department activates, bills and closes electric, water and solid waste accounts; the Biscayne Aquifer is the City's main water source. Source
- Code cases are heard by a Special Magistrate appointed by the City, who can assess fines and order liens placed on property: after a ruling, uncorrected violations can be fined up to $1,000 a day for a first violation and $5,000 a day for a repeat, up to $15,000 per violation if it is irreparable or irreversible, plus the City's enforcement and repair costs, and continued non-compliance can result in a lien filed against the title. Source
- Under Section 7-16 of the City Code, the current owner of a property is responsible for a violation, along with anyone in possession of it or who caused it, even if a prior owner or an unknown third party caused the violation; the Special Magistrate may find the landlord as well as the tenant responsible. Source
- To close a permit, all required inspections for the master permit and any associated sub-permits must be completed and approved; the Building Safety Division closes permits manually once all inspections have passed. Source
- The building fee schedule adopted by Ordinance No. 2025-09-25 on September 9, 2025 charges $100 to extend a permit before it expires, 50% of the original permit fee up to 180 days after expiration and 100% after that; work started without a permit costs $110 plus two times the permit fee on a homestead property and $110 plus four times on a non-homestead property, and residential records research is $58 an hour. Source
- The same schedule charges $276 for building recertification review under the Miami-Dade County Board of Rules and Appeals and County Code Chapter 8, and $500 for each three-month extension an owner requests after the City's notification letter, with a maximum of two extensions. Source
We are buyers, not lawyers, and we give no legal advice. These are the places and the public figures, not what you should do about them.
The part that changes
Selling in Homestead: Who You Are Actually Dealing With
Homestead is in Miami-Dade County, and these are Miami-Dade's offices. Public information, with the source next to it.
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01Where probate is filed
Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Probate Division, in Miami.
Source: Where probate is filed -
02Who records the deed and the liens
Deeds and liens are recorded with the Miami-Dade Clerk of the Court and Comptroller.
Source: Who records the deed and the liens
All five for Miami-Dade, including the stamp tax and the wind code, with sources →
We are buyers, not lawyers, and we give no legal advice. These are the offices involved, not what you should do about them.
Start where you are
What's Going On With the House in Homestead?
Every one of these has its own page. Pick the one that sounds like yours.
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Google reviews for Total Cash Home Buyers
These reviews are for Total Cash Home Buyers, Brandy's company. Same team, same phone number. 4.9 out of 5 across 126 Google reviews.
- 5 out of 5 stars
Jessie made the sale of my parents home super easy. It was done fast with no issues and they didn’t have to lift a finger. 10/10 would reccomend !
- 5 out of 5 stars
Total Cash Home Buyers was great to work with. I sold my home in “AS-IS” condition and didn’t pay any closing costs or fees. Great company to work with
Straight answers
Questions Sellers Ask Us
The ones people ask about this, answered straight.
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Do you buy in Keysgate, Waterstone, the Villages and the rest of Homestead?
Yes, anywhere inside the City of Homestead: the Northwest, Keysgate, the Villages, the Southwest, Waterstone and Oasis, Avocado Villas and the Historic Downtown Homestead District included. The median home here dates from 2001, so the house is rarely the problem; we walk it, show you the comps and repair numbers we used, and you pick the closing date.
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Do you buy rental houses in Homestead with tenants still in them?
Yes, and here that is a common call: fewer than half of Homestead's occupied homes are lived in by their owners. You do not have to evict anyone for us; after closing that is ours. Under the City Code the Special Magistrate can hold the landlord as well as the tenant responsible for a violation, so tell us the real tenant situation and any open case up front, and the number holds.
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What does the City of Homestead's lien search cover?
The City Clerk's estoppel and lien search covers downtown assessments, code compliance, utilities and liens placed by the City. It costs $75 per folio for three to five working days, or $125 for one to two, and after thirty days a new search is required. Homestead Public Services supplies the water, electricity and sanitation, so the utility balance shows up on that search. We order it early and read it before the offer, and any balance shows as a line before you sign.
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My Homestead house has an open code case or an expired permit. Can you still buy it?
Yes, as it sits. In Homestead the current owner answers for a violation even if a prior owner caused it, a Special Magistrate's fines can reach $1,000 a day for a first violation, and continued non-compliance can end as a lien on the title. An expired permit can be extended for half the original fee within 180 days of expiring and the full fee after that, and a permit closes only once every inspection has passed. We buy with it attached and deal with the City ourselves after closing. We are buyers, not lawyers, and we give no legal advice.
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